ICC to start certification program in salvaging building materials

EAST PEORIA — As debris continues to be cleared from Washington by the ton, Illinois Central College is adding a curriculum for certification in salvaging building materials.

The certificate program — called the Deconstruction and Building Materials Salvage and Reuse certificate — starts in January as a fast-track curriculum with four courses that can be knocked out in a semester.

A statewide grant from the Department of Labor and administered by the Illinois Green Economy contributed about $500,000 to ICC to create the program, hoping to fill a sorely needed hole in recycling waste in central Illinois.

"Debris and waste are just materials in the wrong place," said Anne Nicklin, curriculum development and instructor at ICC.

Nicklin said that little infrastructure or certified laborers exist in central Illinois to handle the recycling of material from the Nov. 17 tornado in Washington, and the loss of materials is staggering.

"It's atrocious what's happening in Washington," Nicklin said. "Driving through and seeing the debris, so much materials are there. We need to ensure — God forbid it happens again — that these materials don't need to go to the landfill."

According to Nicklin, 40 to 60 percent of the national waste stream comes from construction and demolition debris, most of which can be recycled.

The certificate program is open to both employers who want to expand the diversity of their employees and current students who might be tracking toward a construction, architecture or demolition career. Registration for the spring semester is open on ICC's website.

Diana Fuller, the regional coordinator of the program, has spent her time interacting with employers in the area to gauge their knowledge and interest in the certificate program.

It's the first of its kind in the state of Illinois, said Fuller, and the heavy outreach to employers is a facet that has not been used in the introduction of this program in other states.

"There's a high potential for this to be successful with area contractors," Fuller said. "It's a fairly new concept, but a lot of employers are very interested in the program."

Thomas Bruch can be reached at 686-3188 or tbruch@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasBruch.

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